2017 Resolutions: How did I do?

Last January I made this list of my top ten bookish resolutions for 2017… and now the time has come to see how I did! I’ve completely forgotten what my resolutions were, so this should be an interesting trip down memory lane.

1. Read 24 books. Done! Somehow the stars aligned this year and I actually managed to read THIS MANY books… don’t ask me how! (Come to think of it, I know exactly how: SO MUCH required reading for college!) Although I don’t really care about the number of books I read, I can’t help but be pleased with this count!

2. Read more classics. Done! This goal can also be credited to the many books I was required to read for my courses this year, especially for my tutorials at Oxford. So much Victorian literature!

3. Read something by Zadie Smith. Done! Luckily enough, White Teeth was on the list of assigned reading for the Writing Feminisms tutorial I’m taking this upcoming term so I finally got around to reading something by Zadie Smith. (Also, it was AMAZING. Would definitely recommend!)

4. Read more by Charles Dickens. Done! I ended up reading two more novels by Dickens this year: Hard Times and Oliver Twist. I enjoyed both, though not as much as Great Expectations. (How I love that novel…)

5. Read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Nope! I feel as though I’m just destined to not read this book. Despite my incessant inclusion of this novel in countless TBR lists, for some reason I can’t seem to get around to reading it. Will 2018 finally be the year???

6. Continue posting to my bookstagram.Done! I’ve had such a blast updating my bookstagram, especially now that I have the privilege of being surrounded by so many beautiful buildings and scenes at Oxford.

7. Write more discussion posts. Done! I feel like I’ve definitely made an improvement by writing longer posts about my study abroad experiences and introducing weekly features like Feminist Fridays onto my blog. (Pssst! Any feedback on this point would be very appreciated!)

8. Be more engaged with the online book community. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to go with a no for this one. Although I’ve had an amazing time studying abroad, being at Oxford does mean that I have less time to blog. I’ve really missed reading and commenting on everyone’s posts!

9. Read slowly. Hmm…. probably not. Again, having so much work at Oxford means that I really can’t afford to spend my time slowly wading through novels like I’d love to do. So much to read, so little time!

10. Have fun!! DEFINITELY! One reason I love blogging is that it always reminds me to have fun with what I read. After all, what good is reading if you don’t enjoy it?

I unknowingly achieved over half of my bookish resolutions 2017– who would have thought?

What were your resolutions for 2017? Did you achieve them? Will you carry them over into 2018? Let me know in the comments section below!

45 Replies to “2017 Resolutions: How did I do?”

Oh wow, you achieved a lot of your goals! And I can relate to your Game of Thrones problem! I did plan to read it one day, but since I’ve already seen the show and I love it so much, I simply don’t have the motivation to pick up the books! And they’re soooo long too so that makes it even worse XD

Wonderful accomplishments Holly!
I definitely went backwards on my reading classics resolution. I read a lot more classics in 2016 and then in 2017 I got totally sucked into Young Adult novels and contemporary lit on mental illness – oops, lol.
Have a happy new year and good luck on your reading challenges of 2018! 🙂

i dont think i will ever be able to read game of thrones so we can fail at this together. im so glad you’ve had fun and i’m sorry you don’t have much time to interact but i get it!! hopefully, maybe 2018 you can achieve some of these goals. you achieved so much wow!! happy new year i hope 2018 treats you well holly

Please don’t sweat not having read Game of Thrones. It is terribly slow and so much info and names. In hindsight, I simply do not know how I made it all the way to book 5, because just no. I never even got through that last one anyway.

ah these are amaaaazing resolutions and you did so well??? as someone who loves making resolutions and is even more passionate about being completely unable to stick to them, this is very impressive. hope your 2018 is somehow even more of a success!!

You did so well on your resolutions, Holly, congratulations! 🙂 I get you about reading slowly, I am always torn between appreciating every sentence and savouring a book slowly and reading really, really quick to be able to read as many books as possible. So many books to read haha 🙂

Looks like you had an amazing year Holly! Your bookstagram is great and I’ve only just realised I wasn’t following you! I’ve fixed that now though. One of my goals for next year is also to engage more with the book community by commenting on more blog posts and following more book bloggers. I hope we can both do achieve it!

Well done for doing so many! I had to read Game of Thrones for uni but only got half way through. It’s a good book but not needing to read any more of it for uni meant I wasn’t particularly motivated to keep reading. I’m glad you’re enjoying blogging and updating your instagram so much!

I had to read White Teeth for a university module too, although mine was to do with language and cultural identity. I wasn’t that mad keen on it, probably because I couldn’t take my time reading and analysing it as much as I wanted to, but I do want to re-read it at some point this year. I often find myself thinking about it and it strikes me how important it actually is as a novel. You could read it at any time and it would still be relevant! I’m also hoping it will encourage me to read more Zadie Smith books.

Your goal to read more classics is something I want to do this year, especially in terms of Dickens and other Victorian literature. I’ve done the Bronte sisters, Gaskell and RL Stevenson but I’m always on the lookout for more. If you have any recommendations, that will be greatly appreciated!

Hey, I’m incredibly happy to see that you’ve achieved so many of your goals! You may not have finished everything on your list, but sometimes, life throws stuff out of nowhere and we’re forced to reevaluate our strategy and priorities. I’ve always believed that having goals is great, but being flexible is better.

You accomplished so many of your 2017 resolutions; great job. And personally, I rather enjoy your discussion posts, because I like seeing how other readers/bloggers think and respond to certain topics, and I usually like the conversation and healthy debate that can grow from the posts.